Á La Bella Étoile
by alchemicmonkey
Summary: Jim sets out on another adventure after he meets a cat-girl who claims that she's being hunted by the fabled Pirate Overlord...and the fact that the father who abandoned him may be involved. Rated M. I shouldn't have to explain why by now; you should know
1. Rune

1: Rune

"Jim!" Sarah Hawkins called. Her son bounded down the stairs, his white Interstellar Academy jacket tied around his waist.

"Yeah mom?" he replied.

"Would you help me out here?" Sarah asked, glancing around the crowded inn. He rolled his eyes.

"Sure…" he mumbled. This wasn't exactly what he wanted to do on his weekend, but… it was better than being bored. He watched as an alien girl, more humanoid than alien as she had a long black cat's tail waving behind her as she chattered to a patron. She was a new waitress Sarah had employed recently. Actually, he had only seen her once and that was when he found her lying unconscious dangerously close to the dock. But he had gone back to the academy after bringing her inside, so he hadn't really met her. Her large black ears perked when the door opened.

"Thanks for coming!" she called after someone as they waddled out the door. Bright yellow eyes settled upon him, making him turn away as his face heated up.

He heard quick, light footsteps over the din of the patrons. When he turned around again, the cat-girl was staring up at him.

"You're Jim, aren't you?" she asked. He nodded, strangely unable to speak. "I'm Rune."

"Hey," he replied brilliantly. "So, uhhh… you're okay, right?"

"Hm?" she asked. "Oh yeah. I remember now. You found me, right? Yeah, I'm fine."

"Hey, Jimmy…" B.E.N. said as he wandered over. "Who's this?"

"I'm Rune, remember?" she prompted.

"Oh, the little kitty that Jimmy found outside!" the robot exclaimed. "That was awfully sweet."

"Get off me," Jim hissed. He pushed the neurotic robot away and when he turned to face Rune, she had disappeared.

* * *

"So you're a pirate!" B.E.N. exclaimed later that evening.

"Uh… yes. I'm the captain of my crew," Rune nodded, her tail twitching nervously.

"A pirate?" Delbert asked. "Fascinating. Um… which planet are you from, if you don't mind my asking?"

"Nekona Minor," she replied. "It's in the… the…" she snapped her fingers. "The Ahkantar system," she grinned after remembering.

"Fancy that Jim, a pirate. Brings back memories, doesn't it?" Delbert sighed dreamily.

"You've been involved with pirates?" Rune asked in a low tone. Jim nodded slowly. "Did you ever hear about the Pirate Overlord?"

"Overlord?" Amelia repeated. "No, no, there's no such thing. It's only a legend."

"Treasure Planet wasn't," Jim muttered.

"The Pirate Overlord is said to be among the most feared pirates in the universe, right up there with Nathaniel Flint and the like. But instead of pillaging treasure and stashing it on some distant rock out in the boondocks of the universe, he would capture people. He'd torture them for fun, make them his slaves, or sell them on the black market. If he didn't like someone, he'd kill them," Rune murmured. "My village was targeted in a raid. My parents were slain and he gave me this…" she turned around and lifted up the back of her shirt. Countless scars interlaced one another, forming a criss-cross pattern across her skin. "… and this," she turned back around and pulled down at her shirt, revealing a large circular brand on her breast bone.

"Oh my…" Sarah breathed.

"The scars on my back are from refusing to obey him… and the brand is his promise that he'll find me again and make me his bride," she said solemnly. "Personally, I think it's a bunch of crap you'd read about in a fiction novel."

"Hey…" B.E.N. started, "If you're a captain of your crew… where are they?"

"Umm… yeah, about that… they wanted what was best for me so they kinda… kicked me out," she giggled nervously.

"Why would they do that?" Delbert inquired.

"The brand," Rune replied, fingering the ruined skin.

"I don't see how a simple brand is reason enough to engage in mutinous actions," Amelia sighed.

"You don't recognize what it is, do you?" Rune asked coyly. "I suppose it's because it is not black…"

"Why would it make more sense it your freaky brand thing was black?" Jim asked, shaking his bangs out of his face.

"That's because it's the Black Spot," she grinned, her sharp eyeteeth glinting in the dim light. "My friend Sedna was given a similar brand, though I haven't seen her since we got separated while escaping from the Overlord's ship."

"Ah, the pirate symbol of despair," Delbert nodded gravely. "How unfortunate."

"Spare me the 'pity' bullcrap, dogman, okay?" Rune snapped. "The only reason I'm here now is because I'm too stubborn to give in to someone's whims, got that? I'm no one's sex toy or 'fiancée' alright? Now just shut up and leave it alone!"

"Hey, he was just trying to be nice. That's no reason to throw a hissy fit," Jim scoffed. Rune sniffed and tossed her black hair over her shoulders, storming off.

"Now Jim, that's no way to a woman's heart," Delbert sighed.

"What?" he asked.

"Well, he does seem to have a point. In all the time I've known you Jimmy, I've never seen you take a fancy to a girl before," B.E.N. nodded. "She is pretty cute."

"What the heck makes you think that?" Jim cried, exasperated. He only got small grins in response. He sighed and walked away, stuffing his hands in his pockets. He needed air… now. Morph tittered as he flew around the man's head and rubbed against his cheek.

"I suppose I should thank you for saving me," Rune's voice said from the growing darkness. Jim looked up to see her perched on the roof of the inn, gazing intently at the setting sun.

"Oh, uh… you don't have to do that," he floundered. "I've been doing things like that since I was a kid. I mean, taking in strays and trying to keep them."

"You're planning on 'keeping' me?" she inquired.

"No! No, that's not what I meant!" he replied. He felt his cheeks heat up. Rune giggled and leapt down from the roof in one swift movement that reminded him of Captain Amelia.

"How 'bout this? In exchange for saving my life, I'll help you with something," she offered.

"Help me? With what?" he asked.

"Hey, that's just how I work. Either you let me repay you or I stick around until it gets done by default," she shrugged. "Your choice, Jim."

He swallowed hard, feeling very uneasy with Rune in such close proximity to him. If he took not even a full step forward, he'd walk right into her. Actually, if he made any movement forward he'd end up touching her. He watched her tail flick behind her, almost absently wondering how she got dressed in the mornings. Did she need a special type of clothing? He glanced down and saw she was wearing a skirt, and again he blushed.

"Are you okay?" she asked. "You're almost as red as the sky."

"I'm fine… uh… I'll see you later," he mumbled before dashing inside. Once safely inside the interior of the inn, he slumped down at a table, burying his face in his folded arms.

"Was it something I said?" Rune's voice asked suddenly. He jumped and knocked over the chair, sprawling on the floor. "Sorry," she chuckled.

"Um… no?" he asked. Why didn't he know? Why was he so confused all of a sudden?

"Look, you've been acting weird ever since this morning. If it's because of me, just let me know. It's really not that hard, you know," she said, folding her arms.

"It's… it's not you, okay, just… just stay away from me for a while okay? I'm not used to you yet," he floundered, hiding his face behind his hands.

"Very well," she replied. He swore he heard her smirk. When he was sure she had left, he dared to look around. He saw her at the far end of the room. She winked and ducked behind a door.

* * *

The next day found Rune in Delbert's lab, being poked and prodded by various objects.

"Strange, you appear to be of a similar breed to Amelia, yet your feline aspects are more prominent," he deduced, yanking on her tail. She meowed in pain. "Fascinating."

"Ugh, do you mind, dogman? There is such a thing as 'personal space' you know," she hissed.

"Now, now, I have a name, and I'd appreciate it if you used it," he chided gently.

"Hey doc!" Jim's voice echoed in the room adjacent to the one occupied by Delbert and Rune.

"In here, Jim," he called back, tugging on Rune's ears.

"Ouch!" she snarled. "I'd like to keep those if it's not too much trouble!" B.E.N. entered the room with Jim, carrying a large glass of milk. Rune followed it with her eyes and mewed happily when it was handed to her.

"So the doc tells me you're like Amelia," the copper robot chattered.

"Not really. We're from different planets so we're not really 'like' each other. I think it's kinda obvious since I have rather large ears and a tail," she enunciated, flicking her tail to further prove her point.

"Is it real?" B.E.N. asked. "I mean like, is it attached?"

"Yes, it's attached," she said, a faint blush rising to her cheeks. "What the hell kind of question is that?"

"Geez, it's just a question. You don't need to get all flustered," Jim chuckled.

"Right. Um, why are you saying that when you don't even know me?" she snapped, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand. She set the empty glass beside her and swung her legs. "Get to know me first; then judge me."

"Guys…" B.E.N. started a bit nervously. "Uh, I hate to interrupt this lovely chit-chat, but I think a passing ship just got hit." He pointed a metallic finger to the window, where a large ship was veering off course, the rear part ablaze.

"What?" Rune cried, leaping off the table and jogging to the window. As the vessel loomed larger, she backed away from the window.

"It's gonna crash," Jim stated as the ships bow grew to immense proportions. He grabbed B.E.N.'s arm, and dove under a table that was out of the way a bit, taking Rune with him. She clamped her hands over her ears as the ship crashed through the building. When the creaking of the wood stopped and the smoke cleared a bit, Jim looked up.

"Wow," B.E.N. mumbled.

"Doc!" Jim cried. "Doc, are you okay?"

"Yes, we're fine," Amelia's shaky voice replied from somewhere among the smoke.

Rune carefully approached the smoldering ruins, shielding her face with her hand. She saw a glove sticking out from among some burning rubble and went to investigate. She screamed when she saw the charred skeleton. A flaming mass rose from another part of the ship.

"You…" it croaked. "You're the reason the Overlord attacked us…" it pointed a sword at her chest, slicing open her shirt to reveal her branded skin. A slightly metallic _dring_ sound echoed in her ears as the burning man was shot.

"Let's go," Jim ordered, grabbing her wrist and dragging her out of the room.

"Where are we going, Jimmy?" B.E.N. asked as he clanked along beside them.

"We've got to get out of here," he answered monotonously, throwing the robot and cat-girl into a wagon sitting just outside the mansion. "They're after you, aren't they?"

Rune nodded silently before answering "Yes…" softly.

"Well, you need to get out of here," he stated.

"Where would I go? My own crew abandoned me because of this brand. So long as either I or the Overlord is alive I'll never be free of him!" she snapped, her tail twitching angrily.

"Perhaps you should go to another planet," Amelia suggested.

"He'd still find me," Rune muttered, shaking her head. "No matter where I run to or where I hide… he'll find me."

"What will you do?" Delbert asked.

The dogman flinched as her eyes, normally a soft gold color, flicked to him and stared. He blinked back at the sheets of gold metal, a shiver running up his spine at the malice behind them. They reflected the dim night light cast by Crescentia space port and passing streetlights, making them glow eerily. Her black hair blended into the shadows so well he couldn't tell which was which, only that it started where her pale skin ended. She brought a hand to her chest and closed her cut shirt.

"I'll kill him," she growled.

o0o

Á La Bella Étoile: end chapter 1

* * *

_A/N: what did you think? Did you like it? You hated it I know… I'm still gonna write the rest of the story though!_

…_okay, so Á La Bella Étoile_ _means under the stars in French. I thought it'd work because it's a Treasure Planet story and it takes place out in space 'under the stars'. It makes sense to me. I sure like titling my stories in foreign languages… I mean I've got Latin (DXM), Italian (INDC) and now French (this one, which will be abbreviated ALBE). Don't worry about pronunciation, I can't do it myself. (You should pick titles you can actually pronounce! But everyone uses English! Freak!)_

_Wow, I just argued with myself again… shut up, inner self!_


	2. Jim's Proposition

2: Jim's Proposition

After surreptitiously making their way back to the Benbow Inn, everyone retired to their separate rooms. Jim awoke to chattering just as the sun was rising.

"I have to go!" Rune's voice protested.

"Well, really, I've never heard anything so selfish. I mean, after all we've done for you…" Sarah snapped back.

"I don't want to put you all in danger!" Rune cried, stomping her foot. "My crew was attacked because of that mark. That was why they abandoned me… if I stay in one place for too long, more people will suffer…"

"Rune, listen to me…" Sarah pleaded gently.

"No, I have to go," she cut in. "Jim saved my life, so it's only fair that I spare his."

"Sparing a life is not the same as saving it," the brunette boy, who by this time had wandered downstairs, commented. "If that's the repayment you're talking about, I won't accept that. It's downright cowardly."

"This doesn't concern you," she hissed, the hair on her tail bristling.

"Yeah, it does. You said you wanted to repay me for saving your life, and running away isn't a solution," he scoffed.

"You don't know what I've been through! Don't go around saying things that will only cause trouble!" she snapped, golden eyes flashing.

"I've traveled through the whole universe practically, with a whole horde of pirates right under my nose. I almost died a few times and I blew up a planet!" Jim recalled. "Don't even go there."

"Did you see you village get pillaged and burned to the ground? Were you chained to a wall watching, transfixed with terror, as your best friend was tortured and raped? Were you flogged repeatedly and then branded because of someone's obsession?" she shot back. "Don't even go there," she mimicked. "Don't judge my life until you've lived it."

He watched as Rune grabbed a black jacket a bit shorter than her red dress and donned it, slung a satchel over her shoulder, bid Sarah farewell, and walked out the front door. His mouth flapped open and closed a few times, along with his fists.

"I can't stop you, can I?" Sarah asked softly.

"Mom, she said she was going to kill this Overlord guy. What if she dies in the process? I…" he stalled, trying to force back the words climbing up his throat. "I wouldn't be able to live with myself if that happened when I had the power to do something about it," he blurted, heat rising to his cheeks.

"Jim…" she started.

"Mom… I have to do this. I have a feeling it's what I should do," he said gently, placing his hands on her shoulders.

"You better go now before you lose her," she said, nodding her head towards the door. He hugged her swiftly and darted outside.

"Ah… our little Jimmy's growing up…" B.E.N. sighed dramatically, clamping his hands together and gazing dreamily off into the distance.

"It certainly seems so, doesn't it?" Sarah agreed.

Rune wound her way through the crowds around the marketplace, ducking and weaving to avoid being hit by passerby and any items they purchased. She had no idea where to begin even looking for the Overlord… or Sedna, to whom she made a promise to find and rescue. She bought a bun filled with a sweet purple paste and sat on a rooftop, eating it idly and waiting for an idea to hit her. Maybe she should buy a ship… okay, maybe more along the lines of a motorized rowboat… but where would she get the money to do that? And where would she get clues as to the Overlord's location? Everything she had ever heard had been some tale spun by a drunken sailor or a creepy fortune teller who was higher than heaven on foreign incense. She only knew that he was real because she had seen him. She had… been touched by him. She could clearly recall his eyes, which they were bluer than the ocean and underneath the harshness and cruelty that there was the slightest fragment of kindness. She remembered his long hair, bleached almost white but brown at the roots and clearly showed that his hair had grown in length recently. She remembered his voice and Sedna's desperate cries as she was tortured and raped…

"Rune!" a voice called, jerking her out of her reverie and nearly making her tumble off the roof. "Rune, I need to talk to you!"

"Jim?" she asked uncertainly, leaning forward and peering into the crowd below.

"Rune!" he called again, trying to make his way through the mobs without shoving people aside. "Where are you?"

"I'm up here, smart one," she sassed. He whirled around and around, completely confused. "On the roof, genius…"

"Come down, I need to talk to you," he repeated.

"Why, so you can lecture me again about your 'grand adventure'?" she drawled. "I'm not interested; I have my own problems that need solving."

"I know, that's what I want to talk to you about," he said. "I… I want to help you."

"Come again?"

"I want to help you get rid of the Overlord. You can't repay your 'debt' if you wander across the universe," he said as he scaled the drainpipe.

"You're that desperate, huh?" she chuckled.

"Yeah…" he grunted as he hauled himself onto the roof. "I'm that desperate. So will you let me help you?"

"Hey it's your life. If you wanna throw it away, who am I to stop you?" she shrugged, crumpling up the pastry wrapping and tossing it into a dumpster on the side of the building they sat on top of. "See? Just like that."

"You know, you're kinda funny," he chuckled, ruffling her hair.

"My crew thought otherwise. Every time I cracked a joke they would roll their eyes and tell me I needed a new hobby," she mumbled.

"Did you get one?" he inquired.

"Nah, nothing really interests me…" she shook her head and smoothed out her hair. "Even Sedna didn't think I'd be a comedienne…"

"You talk about Sedna a lot," he noted.

"She's my best friend," Rune said a bit absently. "She's tall ad has this really shiny and long blond hair and her ears and tail are a really pretty soft white and her eyes are huge and blue and she's absolutely gorgeous… unlike me. Honestly I always was a bit jealous of her."

"I like you just the way you are," Jim muttered.

"Huh?" Rune asked, blushing a vibrant red. Jim's face matched the shade and he quickly hid his face.

"I mean… I was just trying to make you feel better. You seemed so upset when you described her, like she was superior to you…" he babbled.

"Outta the way!" a gruff voice snarled viciously. Rune sucked in a breath quickly and grabbed Jim's wrist, dragging him behind the building's chimney. Carefully, she peeked out from around the side and watched as several men in dark green uniforms stormed through the marketplace, pushing aside anyone in their way. "We be lookin' fer a cat-girl and none of yous better be hidin' her, 'cause the brass don't take kindly to stealing what's his," the leader, a stout man with a shock of age-whitened hair barked.

"Damn, how'd they find me?" she whispered as they marched past and vanished into the crowd.

"Who were those guys?" Jim asked, scooting closer so he could whisper back, lest they overhear them somehow.

"The Overlord's minions," she replied. "The leader has a photographic memory so he can easily spot me. That's why we hid when they passed. I nearly died breaking out of his ship; I do not want to go back there anytime soon."

"Rune…" Jim started. She turned to look at him and he found himself lost in her golden eyes. He could see anxiety, fear, frustration, confusion, anger and something he wasn't familiar with swirling around inside them, and he suddenly ached to erase those emotions from her.

"We better go. We'll take the backstreets and alleys until we reach the inn. I'll leave it to you and the others to arrange transportation. It'd be best if we left Montressor as soon as possible," she said quickly. He couldn't help smirking as her face turned the slightest bit red.

"Hey," he said when her tail hit him in the face.

"Sorry," she grinned sheepishly, looking over her shoulder. "C'mon, before they catch my scent."

They snuck through the dark alleys and dimly lit backstreets, darting across open areas swiftly and as silently as possible. Once Jim stepped on her tail and she yowled in pain, alerting the green uniformed men at least of their existence. He pulled her towards him and crouched behind a stack of boxes and garbage cans, one hand over her mouth and the other firmly around her waist. He let her go only when she bit him, piercing his skin with her teeth and drawing a bit of blood.

"Any idea where you want to go?" he asked eventually.

"Far away from here, at least," she shrugged. "I didn't get past the 'leaving Montressor' part yet."

* * *

"Anything yet, Hondo?" the stout officer demanded. A man with spiky sand colored hair stopped sniffing the air and shook his head.

"Nothing sir," he replied, his pointed dog ears lowering in shame. "Her scent is too dispersed to catch onto quickly in this mob."

"Keep at it," he snapped, adjusting his silver-rimmed monocle.

"Yes Mr. Gooch," he muttered. A few moments later, he caught whiff of something. "Over there, over there!" he yapped, bouncing up and down like a child. "I can smell her over there!"

"Forward men," Mr. Gooch ordered. They cautiously approached the damaged labs that Delbert and Amelia had evacuated until it could be rebuilt.

"She was here," Hondo giggled. "She was here, she was here; she was all over this building!"

"Not anymore, though," an officer with jet black hair said apathetically. "Her scent has faded, meaning she hasn't been here in at least twelve hours."

"You're such a party pooper, Magnus!" Hondo whined. "I know she's not here now, but she was and that's something!"

"What will we tell the brass?" Magnus inquired dryly, his voice scraping against his throat.

"We'll tell the Overlord that we're closer than we were yesterday. Move out! We go to the next planet," Gooch commanded.

"But… sir…" Hondo started.

"We move out," Gooch enunciated, grabbing Hondo's collar and glaring into his eyes. Hondo whimpered and nodded.

* * *

"You got a ship?!" Rune exclaimed.

"Oh, we just had some money saved up. Besides, Jim requested it," Amelia replied. "I think he likes you."

"I do not!" he replied hotly. "…well, a little I guess…" he added.

"I'm coming too!" B.E.N. announced.

"Huh?" she asked.

"Oh please!" he begged, throwing himself at her feet. "Please! It'll be so cool to go on another adventure!"

"It's not going to be an adventure!" Jim snapped.

"Then what is it?" Delbert questioned.

"An assassination," Rune replied dully. "I told you I was going to kill him and I still plan to. It's also a way to avoid getting innocents involved. I don't want any harm to befall you."

"Right! I propose we leave tomorrow morning!" B.E.N. decided.

"We leave as soon as possible, preferably tonight," Rune interjected.

"Why so soon?" Amelia asked.

"The Overlord is looking for me," she replied bluntly.

"We encountered some goons of his in town. They were looking for her," Jim clarified.

"Sarah, take care of the kids for us, okay?" Delbert said to Sarah, who stood by listening to the conversation.

"You're going too?" she asked, slightly shocked. "Why?"

"Well, to be completely honest…" he started, "Rune is by far the most fascinating humanoid alien I've met to date. You know no one's ever encountered a native from Nekona Minor before. Outside the home planet, that is. Besides, it's practically at the edge of the galaxy! It takes several years to get there, even on the fastest ships."

"You're going to use it as a research opportunity?" Sarah demanded.

"What kind of ship did you get?" Rune inquired eagerly.

"Nothing extravagant. I figured that considering the situation, we should be as inconspicuous as possible. Jim, I talked to the academy and they've agreed to let you take a vacation from your studies. You have approximately a month and a half before your excursion will be dubbed 'unexcused'. Is that clear?" Amelia said sharply.

"Yes, ma'am," he drolled. Saying that made it seem like he was getting ready to search for Treasure Planet all over again.

"I'm driving," Rune stated.

"I'm the captain, I bought the ship; I'm driving," Amelia retorted fiercely.

"It's my mission we're going on," Rune hissed.

"I'm older," she replied snootily.

"Yeah, well, I'm cuter," Rune brushed her hair over her shoulders and batted her eyelashes.

"That's completely irrelevant though I have to agree," B.E.N. nodded.

"How'd you escape from the Overlord?" Jim asked as they swiftly made preparations to depart.

"Oh, some guy whose name was Hawkins helped me," she replied nonchalantly. Jim nearly choked on his breath.

o0o

Á La Bella Étoile: end chapter 2

* * *

_A/N: how do you all like the story so far? I'm really enjoying it, though I seen to have a weird fascination with naming my characters 'Rune'… anyways, I'll draw up this 'Rune' and post her to my site soon. It'll be fairly easy to tell cat-girl Rune apart from pink-haired Rune, and I just explained that. Anyways, TP Rune has black hair and cat ears. Demon Rune is all pink like bubble-gum._

_R&R pretty please!!_

_Until chapter 3…_


	3. The Meteor Knife

3: The Meteor Knife

"Hawkins?" Jim repeated almost stupidly. Could she be talking about…?

"Yeah. I don't remember him very well because he wore this stupid mask to hide his face like he was ashamed of something or something… I just remember that he had blue eyes and dark hair and was pretty well built, if you know what I mean," Rune replied, flexing her arms to show he was buff. She slung her bag over her shoulder and sauntered outside to toss it into the ship.

Jim ground his teeth together. Maybe he was completely wrong… but what if she was talking about the father that abandoned him and his mother so many years ago? After a while he just began assuming he was dead, but some small notion in the back of his mind told him he could be alive somewhere out there in the universe. What if, just if… he had been somehow involved with this fabled Overlord? Hawkins wasn't a very common name on Montressor, even among the humans. He had only met three other people with the same name when he went to school as a little kid, and there was clearly no relation. Even at the Academy, there were almost no people with that name. But Montressor wasn't the only planet in the galaxy. Surely there had to be more people with a similar name out there… she could be talking about a different 'Hawkins', not his father specifically.

"Jimmy?" B.E.N. asked as he clanked by carrying a box of scientific equipment, no doubt Delbert's things for 'field research' or something. "Is something wrong?"

"She said she knows someone named 'Hawkins'… that he helped her escape from the Overlord. Do you think… maybe he could be my father?" he asked softly, blue eyes staring off into the distance and watching Rune as she helped Delbert load things onto the ship. "Because if he is, I've got a few things to say to him," he growled. Well… a little more than a few, actually.

"But Jimmy, it could be any guy named 'Hawkins'," B.E.N. mumbled, shaking his copper head. "You could have the wrong guy completely!"

"Something is telling me that it might be him," Jim replied. "Honestly I'm not sure B.E.N. so we'll just have to see where this adventure takes us."

"Uh, Jim, what if he really is your father?" he asked, jogging after Jim.

"I'll deal with that if it comes down to it," he replied coolly, hauling himself onto the ships railing and extending a hand. B.E.N. grabbed it and scrambled over the edge, yelping when he landed face-first into the wooden deck.

"Shh!" Rune hissed, pressing a finger to her lips. "If you make any loud noises, they'll find us and kill you!"

"Why?" the robot asked in a loud whisper.

"There's a dog-man under his control, not like Delbert. He has a wicked sense of smell and killer hearing. Everyone who works under the Overlord has amazingly exceptional skills and was chosen to work for him for those skills alone. All his cronies are 'designed' in a way to aid him in whatever way possible, from tracking to bed-warming," she replied, the last part tinged with bitterness.

"We'll be taking off soon. Jim, you best say goodbye while you can," Amelia said gently, gesturing to Sarah. He nodded and leaped off the deck and hugged his mother.

"Take care," she whispered, her voice breaking slightly.

"Mom… do you know what happened to Dad?" he asked.

"I don't. I never heard of or from him since he left," she said somberly. "Jim… if you find him… give him this. I've been holding onto it since that day… hoping he'd come back." She pressed a small oblong container into his hand and hugged him tightly.

"Jim!" Rune hissed. "Wrap it up, we're losing starlight!"

"If you do anything stupid while you're out there, the second you get back you're grounded," Sarah threatened good-naturedly. Jim chuckled dryly and stuffed the container in his pocket. Morph tittered and changed into a miniature version of Rune and pointed at the ship. He nodded and turned to go.

"Momma's boy," Rune giggled when he was back on the ship. He rolled his eyes and brushed past her, tromping down to the lower level to help with the launch. Really, all he did was pull the lever that activated the batteries. Rune met him as he was coming back up top.

"What?" he asked huffily.

"Was it something I said?" she asked, looking genuinely upset. "If I've offended you, I apologize."

"It wasn't you," he said quickly. "Well, actually, it kinda was. The guy who helped you escape… you said his name was Hawkins. It's been bugging me, is all," he shrugged like he didn't care.

"I don't know if he's your father or not, Jim," she called after him. He stopped in his tracks.

"How did you…" he started, turning around to face her.

"B.E.N. told me. I know I was being nosy and I don't blame you if you're mad at me for it, but…" she trailed off, unsure how to finish.

"I'm not mad at you," he replied honestly. It was kinda hard since she was acting so… cute. She was looking at the ground and drawing circles on the deck with the tip of her boot, her hands clasped behind her back.

"Maybe it's all some freak coincidence, but he told me, as he shoved me into one of the Overlord's longboats, that if I ever came across a younger version of himself that they'd meet someday in the near future, because he had a feeling I'd meet his son one day. But I don't know anything about him, so how could I possibly find his son?" she laughed softly. "Oddly enough I really wanna think the 'son' is you, but that could be just the fact that I like you."

"What?" he stammered, blushing a bit.

"I wonder what Sedna would think of you…" she mused. "I'd go to her for advice about everything, but never in my sixteen years did I come to her about a guy." She waved and wandered away, activating the artificial gravity as the ship climbed in altitude. He let his eyes linger on her, watching the way she walked and the swish of her tail and how the faint light from the spaceport glimmered off her black hair, making it seem almost dark blue. He absently wondered if it hurt when she sat down and what happened if she stepped or sat on her own tail.

"Jim," Delbert said suddenly, making Jim yelp and spin around. "Sorry."

"Geez, you startled me," he wheezed, clutching his chest. He quickly composed himself, "you need something?"

"No, I was just going to say that it's late and you should get some rest while you can. It's only the five of us on this ship, so we all have to pull our own weight. You and Rune will be taking over primary duties come morning," he prattled.

"Do you even know where we're going?" he asked slightly sarcastically.

"Rune says she has a vague idea of where to begin looking and that she'll attempt it in the morning before we switch off," he replied.

"Right…" Jim grinned dryly. "We're all gonna die." He waved 'goodnight' and meandered down to the galley to nab a purp before turning in. the sound of metal being embedded in wood caught his attention. Silver and gold glimmers in the darkness locked his gaze. Rune was jabbing a knife into the table viciously, her face twisted in agony or regret. Golden eyes met blue ones and she smiled.

"Good night," she chirped sweetly. Alas, her charming smile couldn't mask the pain dwelling beneath it. Jim quickly turned away and half-shuffled into the small room, flopping onto one of the bunks mounted to the wall. Before he knew it, he had fallen into a deep slumber.

Something large and warm wriggled next to him when his brain was slowly warming up the next morning. He could feel the shifting of weight and warm breath on his neck. Perhaps he was still half-asleep and that was what was making the purring noise. He sat up and pushed back the covers, stifling a startled exclamation. Rune was curled up next to him, more or less, and looked almost unbelievably cute. Her legs were drawn up near her chest, like a loose version of the fetal position. Her tail was wound around her knees and her chest moved up and down gently with her steady breathing. Before he could think, he pulled up the sleeve of her apparent night-shirt and set it at her shoulder so her, he had to admit, well-formed breast wasn't so exposed.

Rune rubbed her eyes and yawned sleepily, her ears twitching a bit. Jim felt some color drain form his face as something hard and cold was pressed against his stomach. "Can I help you?" she inquired groggily.

"Yeah, you can get that away from me," he said, grabbing the dagger's tip with his thumb and forefinger and slowly inching away from it. "Care to explain why you're in my bed?"

"I'm a cat. I do what I please and don't care what other's think," she yawned and stretched, sheathing her dagger.

"Curiosity killed the cat," he scoffed.

"Good thing I have nine lives," she retorted. "Well… eight actually, if you count my escape from you know who."

"Where did you get that dagger?" he asked as he pulled on his boots.

"It's a knife, and I stole it from the Overlord while I was getting the heck outta there," she said nonchalantly.

"No… I mean… where were you keeping it?" he clarified. She rolled her eyes and pulled up the hem of her shirt, revealing a leather strap around her thigh.

"If you must pry…" she droned. "My dress isn't the best outfit for concealing a gun, so I figured a knife would be easy enough to hide. Hey, why's your face all red?"

"J-just… I-I'll be on deck…" he stammered. Boy, when she said she didn't care, she meant it. Out of all the girls he knew (and the number was not large) he had never seen one do something so… audacious. He knew she was a pirate, yes, but… surely they had rules regarding such things, right?

"I'm decent, if you're done freaking out," her voice called as she tromped on deck.

"What?" he asked.

"Oh, come on, you're totally inexperienced. It's written all over your face," she grinned mischievously. "You practically have 'virgin' tattooed across your forehead."

"Shut up," he hissed. She giggled and skipped over to a rather groggy-looking Delbert.

"She's not one to mince words, is she?" B.E.N. asked rhetorically.

"Clearly not," Jim agreed. "I can't believe she said those things so easily…" he mused.

"I'd suggest that you get used to it. Who knows how long we'll be drifting through the universe together?" B.E.N. commented. Morph tittered in agreement.

"Let's hope it's not too long…" he groaned, blowing a stray strand of brown hair out of his eyes.

"Jim!" Delbert called, waving the teen over. He obliged, somewhat, and loped over. "Rune's going to show us her navigation technique."

"It's not a technique," Rune sniffed. She pulled out her knife from between her breasts and held it between two fingers.

"You're going to navigate with your knife?" Jim asked, slightly disappointed.

"More or less. The knife's blade was forged out of a meteor that had struck in some sacred valley on some weird planet at the edge of the universe. In the several millennia before the Overlord took possession of the space rock, it had accumulated a strange power from resting in the sacred valley because no one dared venture there. What I heard was that it can direct you to exactly what you want, no matter how far it is, specifically people," she rambled. "It's been in my possession for a little over a year and a half now, so it's should be transfixed onto my spirit or something, showing me the direction of what I want most."

"I don't like this, going off assumptions," Amelia droned. "We need to have an exact plan otherwise this is just a pointless excursion around the universe."

"We ain't got no plan!" Rune snapped. "Anything anyone tells us about the Pirate Overlord is likely to be a myth or legend or tale. The only reason I know he's alive is because I saw him!"

The knife began to glow a soft purple and levitated above Rune's palm. It tilted on its side and began spinning rapidly before coming to an abrupt halt, the tip pointing due east.

"That way," she said stupidly, pointing with her finger.

"There are approximately ten different major planets in that direction and seven minor ones. They're not all in the same system though. A few are, but most of them are pretty spread apart," B.E.N. reported, calculating on his small computer.

"Set a course for the closest one. We'll begin our search there," Rune commanded, snatching the knife out of the air and sheathing it. Jim wondered how she didn't cut herself. "Stop staring at me! You've been doing that ever since we met!"

"It's your fault!" Jim protested hotly, his cheeks flushing yet again.

"Me? What the hell have I done?" she cried incredulously. No one noticed as Delbert, Amelia, B.E.N., and Morph quietly slipped away from the arguing teens.

"Everything! I wouldn't keep staring at you if you weren't so damn pretty!" he raged, striding forward. Rune backed up at a similar pace, mentally cursing when she bumped into the railing. She wouldn't mind so much if he wasn't so close to her. She could feel the heat radiating from his body and felt awfully small, as she came up to only his collarbone. He was glaring at her with his gorgeous blue eyes; the eyes she had thought were so beautiful when she was half delirious as he saved her life. His brown hair fell over his forehead, partially covering his noble brow and the scowl in which it was furrowed. "Ever since I saved your sorry ass you've been all I can think about!"

"Likewise, genius!" she snapped. "I'm surprised you're still single!"

"What does that mean?" he asked, more confused than angry.

"I-it's nothing!" she stammered, her pale skin flushing a vibrant crimson.

"It is not nothing!" he snapped, grabbing her wrist as she tried to move away. "The way you're reacting clearly says it's more than 'nothing'!"

"Let go of me!" she hissed, trying futilely to wrench her wrist free of his iron grip. The more she struggled to get away, the tighter his grip became. Soon enough she was sure all circulation had been cut off to her hand. She tried one last time to get away.

Jim sighed angrily and released her. He watched, slightly guiltily, as she rubbed her wrist. He turned and walked away.

"That's right, keep walking you big pussy!" she called after him. He stopped, clicked his tongue a few times and turned around. "Ah, I'm sorry!" she whined, clapping her hands together and bowing her head.

He strode over again, looming over her and half glaring-half gazing into her fear-widened gold eyes. He rested his forearm against the mast and leaned very close to her, so much so that if he turned his head even slightly his lips would brush against her cheek.

"You may be a pirate, and the captain of a crew, but you do not frighten me," he said firmly but seductively. "Remember that."

Rune felt her knees give out and sunk to the wooden floor. She heard Jim walking away but didn't dare look up. She pressed a hand to her face, hoping it wouldn't burst into flame from the heat residing there. Her heat felt like it was beating at the same rate a hummingbird's wings flap and she desperately wished it'd slow down lest someone hear it.

* * *

_A/N: well, chapter 3's out. How do you all like this so far? I'm enjoying writing this… more than my FMA stories? Yes, I wanna write more of this before I write more to INDC, believe it or not. I hardly can, so…_

_Nothing much to write about. Don't expect any updates on much of anything this weekend. Why, you ask? Because I'm going… to PROM!_

_Well, there may be a new video on my friends and my Youtube account. We have two videos up there already: Kelly Nelly Chan's Storytime 1 and The Secret Life of Stuffed Animals. If you wanna hear what my voice sounds like, I play Fred in the Secret Life of Stuffed Animals (it's the small pig).(actually, I'm making my voice sound more masculine, so…) That's what my friends and I do when we all get together on a weekend and are bored silly._

_Actually, Kelly Nelly Chan made up another story before her Storytime 1 involving two birdies for badminton and a salt shaker. It was about incest or adultery or something… something where the female birdie was pregnant and stuff._

_Oh, our username thing is mizikikiki… I think._

_Well, until chapter 4…_


	4. NOTICE!

**TEMPORARILY DISCONTINUED UNTIL THE GODSEND TRILOGY IS COMPLETED! I apologize, but that is my main project now and I don't really have the right state of mind to continue work on this at the moment.**


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